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It has everything to do with it. All of what you described happens 24 hours a day here. Not in other places. They actually close down their transit systems so that they can be cleaned.
What you guys are asking for is for people to change their culture. Can't be done.
It could be done if people were ticketed for throwing food trash on the floor of the subway, just like sometimes people get tickets for things like riding between the cars and fare evasion. If enough tickets were given out, perhaps it would reduce the amount of disgusting food trash that gets thrown around on the subway floors.
And sure the subways would be a little cleaner if there were more time to clean, but the cars actually do get cleaned even with 24/7 operation. The real problem is the people who are making it filthy, not the issue of not enough time for cleaning.
It's a cultural thing. Japan is a mono cultural society, one that stresses clean cut, conformity, and cleanliness. For better or worse, it works for them. We have too much diversity to take on their ideals. That's not a bad thing (dear god is the work culture terrible there), but it is what it is. YMMV.
But we could be cleaner. I never understood why 48th st, especially the south side of the street, between 6th and 5th Aves is so dirty. I get why the village areas are though, as well as Chinatown.
I just had a recent trip to Japan and as most people would know about Japan, its very clean. Many of their towns and cities are remarkably clean, especially Tokyo. Tokyo is the worlds biggest city yet it manages to be one of the cleanest. Of course, there's areas where it gets dirty, especially in areas where there's many foreign tourist or areas where many people go ton party. Regardless, in comparison to so many other cities world wide, it manages to be exceptionally clean for a city that's so enormous and densely packed.
And don't even get me started on the subway system and the transit system and how immaculate it is.
Besides Tokyo, I've been to other smaller but very clean cities and with clean transit. Toronto comes to mine and Montreal (MTL in terms of its transit).
As a life long New Yorkers and American, it downright disgust me how unsanitary the city is and how downright deplorably dirty the NYC subway is. I know there's many reason as to why some place like Japan may be so clean. Yes, it's a homogeneous country and the culture differs drastically in a lot of ways, most transit systems in the world don't run 24 hours if any other ones; but I don't care. As Americans, as New Yorkers I feel like we can do so much better. With all the money we can spend on many other things, there has to be some solution to making the NYC subway much cleaner.
On the same token, not to contradict myself but I also don't see or have any hope of NYC subways getting cleaner. Many people treat the tracks like a dumpster, treat the train like a big'ol train garbage pail and we have too many people of too many different cultures who just don't care about taking care of their personal surroundings and who are highly inconsiderate.
Yet for a city that focuses on being green so much, we don't have many people who seem to care about cleanliness. Especially with this goofy mayor Bill DeLOUSIO, we'll have more people joyfully urinating and defecating at their leisure in public. And of course, some of these goofy liberals and progressives would rather NYC be grimey and dirty because it gives it "character" and many of these transplants want to be "cultured". NYC can still have its "edge" but be much cleaner but I digress.
My question is: If you're of the same mindset as me, what solutions do you think can be implemented to ensure NYC can be a much cleaner and sanitary city in general? Especially the subway?
I don't just want to come on here and rant, I actually want to throw this out there and here peoples ideas, opinions, emotional outburst, questions, theories, stories, concerns etc. In hopes that we may come up with conversations ideas that may actually lead to something and lead to eventual solutions.
Start developing civic mindset young in school and on a community level. Extol the virtues of caring for your neighborhood and surrounding. This translates to caring for the wider environment. Speak to friends and families about properly disposing of garbage. You have to change individual mindset that will deter the behavior rather than throwing money to remediate it.
Every single one of my friends and family members know how I feel about improperly disposed of garbage.
Some who used to throw garbage on the ground no longer do this. I even got into a heated discussion resulting in one family member not speaking to me for weeks lol . But now he no longer improperly disposes of his garbage and also helps when we have community cleanup days.
I organize twice yearly community clean up in my neighborhood. DSNY actually gives free cleanup supplies and picks up the garbage after. I have gotten previously disintrested neighbors involved in community cleanup and maintenance.
I have gifted trash picker to neighbors to make garbage pick up easier for them.
Beautify environments through tree and flowers planting.
If the transit is not 24 hours then the city is not 24 hours. London's not a 24 hour city either.
The heavy rail system is not 24 hours. I agree London is not a 24 hour city, but that's not because of transit as its night buses can be quite good.
Cities that have their subway shut down during the wee hours, but have ample other means of getting around as well as a 24 hour feel to them exist in parts of Latin America, Spain, and East Asia.
It's a cultural thing. Japan is a mono cultural society, one that stresses clean cut, conformity, and cleanliness. For better or worse, it works for them. We have too much diversity to take on their ideals. That's not a bad thing (dear god is the work culture terrible there), but it is what it is. YMMV.
But we could be cleaner. I never understood why 48th st, especially the south side of the street, between 6th and 5th Aves is so dirty. I get why the village areas are though, as well as Chinatown.
There is Toronto and Montreal which are also highly diverse and aren't nearly as dirty. Nor are Sydney and Melbourne.
Anyhow, I'd like to see:
- Civics classes / courses as part of grade school curriculum as well as part of naturalization (maybe even for just permanent residency)
- More frequent trash pickup, possibly using smaller vehicles
- Public restrooms
- Workfare programs for cleaning up litter and public restrooms with a track towards full employment for those who do a good job
A good deal of street litter is due to the mountains of trash bags we pile on the SIDEWALK. People will throw their litter on the pile + bums will tear open the bags. Trash collectors only take the bags, and leftover pieces of litter + garbage juice will be strewn about the sidewalk. Most other cities have large garbage bins or compactors and have strict rules about when you can leave the trash out. The city should at least have the piles on the street, taking up a few parking spots so that pedestrians don't have to navigate around piles of garbage and aftermath.
You can absolutely do both. It is as simple as getting people to stop improperly dispose of garbage. Simple behavior modification.
Some parents don't even enlist their kids to keep their rooms or homes clean. This in turn translates to a lack of regard for their environment.
When I organize community cleanups sone of my most enthusiastic volunteers are kids. They actually love helping.
No no and no
What you're proposing won't change anything
As much as volunteering to clean your neighborhood is noble, that's what DSNY is for
I'm not volunteering my days off to do what my tax dollars are already being distributed to pay ppl to do
We have DSNY for the streets, Parks Dept for the parks, and MTA for the MTA
You guys mad about dirtiness complain to those 3 agencies
Dept of Health too for good measure
The fact of the matter is this all can be solved quite simply
There's solar-powered garbage cans, find a way to modify them so that they can actually decompose the garbage inside and convert it to energy
Think BIG
Around my way, most of the trash in the streets comes from the seagulls who go through ppl's garbage, and the municipal trash cans. Around my way really doesn't have a problem with litter unless somebody has a party in the park, sometimes they clean up, sometimes they don't, but thats humans for ya, cant trust anybody to do whats right.
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"The man who sleeps on the floor, can never fall out of bed." -Martin Lawrence
Yes, it's a homogeneous country and the culture differs drastically in a lot of ways, most transit systems in the world don't run 24 hours if any other ones; but I don't care. As Americans, as New Yorkers I feel like we can do so much better. With all the money we can spend on many other things, there has to be some solution to making the NYC subway much cleaner.
You nailed the solution in your comments.
If a culture or group of people do not litter on the whole then it is time to point the finger at those that do.
If every person on the train or walking about the city scolded the person caught in act of littering then that
person will eventually get the hint. Until then things will remain the same.
As much as volunteering to clean your neighborhood is noble, that's what DSNY is for
I'm not volunteering my days off to do what my tax dollars are already being distributed to pay ppl to do
We have DSNY for the streets, Parks Dept for the parks, and MTA for the MTA
You guys mad about dirtiness complain to those 3 agencies
Dept of Health too for good measure
The fact of the matter is this all can be solved quite simply
There's solar-powered garbage cans, find a way to modify them so that they can actually decompose the garbage inside and convert it to energy
Think BIG
Around my way, most of the trash in the streets comes from the seagulls who go through ppl's garbage, and the municipal trash cans. Around my way really doesn't have a problem with litter unless somebody has a party in the park, sometimes they clean up, sometimes they don't, but thats humans for ya, cant trust anybody to do whats right.
DSNY already does a good job of collecting garbage twice weekly, the MTA actually cleans the subway, the city deploys people to pick up litter on the streets. However this does not make a dent.
An overwhelming amount of trash originates from people throwing their garbage on the ground/out of their car window.
This is based on lack of pride from individuals.
Civic classes and volunteering builds pride within one's self and the wider community.
Our community cleanup is a great way to meet and speak to the neighbors while improving our neighborhood.
I travel alot, to many densely populated cities, NYC is uniquely filthy when compared to other similar sized, populated, type of city.
American's do have this 'i am the only one that matters' attitude and 'that is not my job'. It in turn translates to a selfish way of being which spills over to how we treat people and our surroundings.
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